3 Perspectives: Behind the Scenes of the River Valley Technical Center

Zachary McNaughton
Issues & Trends in Tech Ed
Final Project

This video explores the inner workings of the River Valley Technical Center from three perspectives;

1. The Administrators
2. Distance Education Coordinator
3. Cooperative Learning Coordinator

This narrative piece delves into the structure and funding of RVTC. I learned a great deal from this assignment. The total run time of my final project is 45 minutes. This is edited down from over four hours of raw interview footage. RVTC is it's own school district governed by a board of eight voting members. Four of these members are elected representatives from our four sending schools and four are appointed from business and industry by these elected members. The center takes advantage of several streams of revenue including the Perkins Fund, equipment grants, next generation grants, and innovative program funds. Enrollments are RVTC are currently on the rise but the future is unclear due to the drop in enrollments at it's sending schools. Due to these numbers RVTC is looking forward to find creative ways to increase its membership and secure funding for the future. One of the key ways RVTC is preparing for the future is by partnering with academic instructors to enhance learning. Currently the center is launching a Media Arts and Technology Cluster that will work with several aspects of the academic system to prepare it's students for media careers. One such partnership is between the new Electronics Video Production program and the Springfield High School's "Green Horn Live" broadcast journalism department. The M.A.T. program is also partnering with the SHS Music Department to expose students and musicians to the world of Recording Arts in theif brand new state-of-the-art recording studio located at the River Valley Technical Center. RVTC is looking forward to bridging the gaps between technical and academic education to help students learn what they need to succeed in the industry. This video explores what goes on behind the scenes to make this possible.